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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Glossy Paper: Soot Technique Video Tutorial (Fauxtograph)

Hey, and thanks for stopping by my blog today! Today I'm sharing a card that I made quite a while back. I made it for my display board at the OnStage event in April and never got around to sharing it because I really wanted to make a video to share how to do this technique. Now that Stampin' Up! is selling Glossy Paper it opens up the doors to so many new techniques! The one that I used on this card is called the Glossy Paper: Soot Technique. It is not for the faint of heart as you definitely risk catching your beloved Glossy Paper (hopefully only your paper!) on fire but it's well worth the risk if you ask me.

Here's a close up so that you can see the technique a little bit better. I love it because it really looks like an aged, old photograph.

Let me start by saying that there are many ways to do this technique. I chose to heat emboss my image in clear embossing paper before I smoked my paper to get it all sooty. I also added an additional step. As I watched tutorial videos on the Soot Technique it became obvious that it can be difficult to control where the flame licks your paper and therefore it's difficult to control where your paper will be covered with soot. That resulted in many of the samples that I saw having an uneven background with a lot of the white paper showing through. It was important to me to have a somewhat even background. As I was going for the aged photograph look on this card I decided to add a little bit of color and texture to my background before smoking it. NOTE: You cannot add the color after you smoke your paper because it will remove the soot. If you choose to add some sponging and stamping as I did, you must do it before you smoke your paper.

After I added color to my glossy paper I used a lit candle to carefully burn and smoke the surface of my glossy paper leaving it with a layer of soot over the face of it. I did catch my paper on fire... if you look at the layers of paper/ribbon sticking out to the left of the image piece you can see that I added some burned glossy paper to the mix. Why not, right? I did get pretty good soot coverage as I smoked my paper. So much so that I felt the need to use a q-tip to wipe a little bit of the soot away from my stamped image. You'll also notice that my image turned black with soot. I did not see this happen in any of the videos that I watched but I liked the way it looked so I was happy with it.

HOT TIPS:
#1: Add at least an inch to the dimensions of your glossy paper before smoking it. Doing this will ensure that you will have enough room to cut off burnt edges if you need to. It will also give you room to hold the edges of your cardstock without ruining your image (because, see #2).

#2: Do not touch your smoked, sooty paper with your fingers. The soot will stick to your fingers and ruin your paper because there will be finger prints in it. The soot wipes off easily with anything so make sure to handle your masterpiece with care.

#3: If you are adding extra color to the background as I did, make sure to do it before you smoke your paper. You will not be able to add it after the fact.

#4: I prefer using a taper candle vs. a votive candle. This helps me to control which part of my paper I am smoking and helps me to keep from bumping into my image piece as I smoke it (bumping it ruins the soot finish).

#6: When you are trying this technique please make sure to take the necessary safety precautions. Smoke your paper over the sink or over a non-flammable surface with a water source nearby.

#7: Seal your image as soon as possible so that you don't run the risk of ruining it. After you seal it you will be able to handle it all you want without having to worry about removing the soot finish.

I know that a video tutorial goes a long way with a technique like this.... so, here ya go!

I hope that video helps! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! If you are interested in purchasing any of the products featured in the video just click on my "Shop Online!" button below, or, let me know how I can help you!

Take care and have an amazing day you all!
-Maria

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